Modular Pulse Generator With Capability of Capacitive Energy Recovery

A repetitive high-voltage pulse generator, consisting of many modules capable of recovering capacitive energy at the pulse termination phase, was developed for use with a capacitive load. The module essentially consists of two capacitors, one for energy storage and the other for energy recovery, and two switches. The first switch delivers energy from the storage capacitor to the capacitive load in a pulse of variable width in the 100-ns range, and then the second switch transfers the residual charge on the capacitive load to the recovery capacitor. The experimental results for metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor-based modules rated at 600 V and 96 A are described. Using the six modules connected in parallel, pulses of width 600 ns and amplitude 10 kV were produced on a 50 Ω-100-pF load, and more than 50% of the capacitive energy was recovered.